User blog:Jeremiah Garland/Chat Rules Concerning PM
This blog is a follow-up to a recent blog written by Pencil-, entitled A Reminder of our Wiki's Rules. Note that this blog is not meant to be directed at anybody in particular, but rather a general reminder for every chat-user on the wiki. When it comes to chat, there are many rules that must be meticulously regulated. PM (private message), on the other hand, cannot directly be regulated by a mod or admin. Many of you believe, therefore, that no rules whatsoever apply to private messaging. Whilst private messages is indeed a grey area when it comes to rules, rules do indeed exist. The person who regulates these rules, however is ''you. ''Users are expected to exercise their own discretion and judgement when dealing with other users in PM. If a user in PM ever harasses another user, links highly inappropriate material (e.g., pornography), or otherwise makes the recipient of the PM feel uncomfortable, they are breaking the rules of PM. The person receiving the PM who is not comfortable with the conversation should kindly tell the other user that they are uncomfortable with the material presented in the PM. If said person continues to be an irritation in PM, this is where the user's judgement comes in. A couple of solutions can be done about this: *Block the person from PM; this may, however, result in drama, especially in public chat. *Depending on how serious the offence committed in PM was, tell a chat moderator. Screenshot evidence may be necessary. Strikes or even bans may be issued. *Simply ignore the person PMing you, and don't answer back. If one does choose to consult a chat moderator, bear in mind the following: *Don't go to a chat moderator if what was said in your PM is petty (e.g., role-play threats). Only go to a chat moderator for serious offences, such as links to pornography, extremely insulting or disturbing images or material, harmful threats, requesting personal information, etc. If any of these crimes are performed, an immediate strike, kick, or ban will be issued. *Do not consult a chat moderator in public chat for something that happened in PM. This will only increase drama and cause arguing. It is advised that one consults the moderator via PM. *Always remember to request that the user messaging you stops their offence(s) before going to a mod. If they continue to do so, then consult. *Remember, simply blocking private messages or ignoring the person altogether is a much easier, less dramatic solution. In conclusion, I hope there is at least this one thing people took from this blog: ''chat rules do apply to PM as well. ''The only difference is that they are not as easily regulated, and are therefore much more flexible with the rules. Cursing, sexual banter, dark humour, and other things that are not allowed in public chat are often utilised in PM. As long as both parties of a PM are perfectly fine with the content being discussed, there is no problem. However, if at anytime one feels uncomfortable with a PM, they have every right to cease the conversation. If a highly serious offence is committed in PM (see bullet above), a user also reserves the right to report this offence to a chat moderator. Category:Blog posts